/tags/blocked/ Recent content in Blocked on Terminal Hugo -- gohugo.io en Sat, 05 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/2025-07-05/ Sat, 05 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000 /posts/2025-07-05/ <p><img src="/images/oil-ai.png" alt="Image Description"></p> <h3 id="cloudflare-just-told-ai-to-get-fcked-20-of-the-internet-is-now-members-only">Cloudflare Just Told AI to Get Fcked: 20% of the Internet is Now Members Only</h3> <p>Here’s what just happened: Cloudflare, which protects a staggering one-fifth of all websites, now blocks AI companies from scraping its clients’ content by default. Additionally, their new “pay per crawl” rule means AI developers must pay just to access each web page. Major publishers are already on board. In short, the endless AI data buffet is closed.</p> <p><img src="/images/oil-ai.png" alt="Image Description"></p> <h3 id="cloudflare-just-told-ai-to-get-fcked-20-of-the-internet-is-now-members-only">Cloudflare Just Told AI to Get Fcked: 20% of the Internet is Now Members Only</h3> <p>Here’s what just happened: Cloudflare, which protects a staggering one-fifth of all websites, now blocks AI companies from scraping its clients’ content by default. Additionally, their new “pay per crawl” rule means AI developers must pay just to access each web page. Major publishers are already on board. In short, the endless AI data buffet is closed.</p> <h4 id="6-burning-questions-that-follow">6 Burning Questions That Follow:</h4> <p><strong>1. What happens when 20% of the internet is blocked from AI?</strong> Imagine AI models as trick-or-treaters, and suddenly, 20 out of every 100 houses on the block go dark. Will these AIs go hungry, or will they start rummaging through whatever scraps are left? Is this part of the internet filled with prime content like Wikipedia and major news sites, or is it mostly low-value clickbait?</p> <p><strong>2. Are we witnessing a ‘Data Land Grab’?</strong> It’s the era of paywalled data. AI startups will need to spend heavily on “crawl credits” just to train effectively. Those without a budget might be limited to lower-quality, openly available content or outdated Wikipedia edits.</p> <p><strong>3. Is this an alliance among publishers, or dividing lines?</strong> Big publishers are teaming up against free AI scraping, with Cloudflare acting as the enforcer. Meanwhile, smaller creators are left wondering if they’ve just become invisible. If only wealthy companies can afford access, will advanced AI become a luxury for the rich?</p> <p><strong>4. Will this make the internet worse for everyone?</strong> If leading websites are locked away, top search results and AI answers could become less accurate or more outdated. The next time you ask an assistant for a joke or a fact, it might give you a dusty meme or an old reference.</p> <p><strong>5. Who wins and who’s left behind?</strong> Winners: Large publishers protecting their content, Cloudflare (holding the keys), and inevitably lawyers. Losers: Small AI startups, users expecting free, current answers, and the 20% of sites still open (soon to be flooded by desperate bots).</p> <p><strong>6. Does this change the game?</strong> For ecommerce: AI won&rsquo;t know about your shop or product launches unless you pay for access. For content creators: Your work now has a price tag. For users: Expect AIs to provide less fresh, less accurate information unless paywalls come down.</p> <p><strong>The Bottom Line:</strong> The internet has become a gated community, accessible only to paying users. Will ChatGPT become less intelligent? Will everything eventually require payment? There’s no clear answer yet, but one thing’s certain: the era of free data is coming to an end.</p>